The use of ozone in cleaning and sanitizing laundry has been utilized for quite some time. The primary reason is that ozone is generally recognized as being effective in cleaning as well as deodorizing and sanitizing laundry while also minimizing the impact to the environment. With respect to commercial applications, however, ozone is generally the preferred cleaning component as it is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and quite reliable in deodorizing and sanitizing laundry being washed.
As is well known, the application of ozone to a cleaning fluid, such as water, acts as a disinfectant as well as assists with removing dirt, debris, soil and other contaminants from the laundry detergent so that the laundry detergent can again be effective in removing additional dirt, debris, soil and other contaminants from the clothing or other laundry being washed. While it is known that dissolving ozone in a liquid, such as water, will assist with improving the cleaning and sterilization efficiency of the liquid, a number of the currently available prior art systems suffer a variety of associated drawbacks.
It is to appreciated that washing laundry can be a relatively expensive process. It utilizes costly resources—water, energy, laundry detergents and labor—and such laundering is often required not only to clean but completely disinfect and sanitize the items being laundered. While conventional detergents, soap and chemistry can be effective in removing dirt, grease, grime and other contaminants, they are not always effective in killing all of the germs and bacteria contained within the laundry. It is known to enhance the disinfection capabilities of a washing machine by introducing ozone into the washing water. The ozone improves cleaning of laundry, even at relatively low or cold wash water temperatures, and also has an antibacterial effect.
It is to be appreciated that a desired amount of laundry detergent (e.g., chemistry) generally must be added to the washing machine in order to ensure that the laundry being washed, in addition to being sanitized and disinfected, is also sufficiently and adequate cleaned. As is conventional in the prior art, an operator or an automated dispensing device typically adds a standard dose or set amount of laundry detergent (e.g., chemistry) to the washing machine while washing the laundry. However, in the event that the laundry is relatively clean, e.g., only slightly soiled, in substantially all washing applications, an excessive amount of laundry detergent (e.g., chemistry) is thus added to the laundry being washed which results in wasted laundry detergent (e.g., chemistry). On the other hand, if the laundry is relatively dirty, e.g., excessively soiled, then an insufficient amount of laundry detergent (e.g., chemistry) may possibly be added to the laundry being washed thereby preventing the laundry from being sufficiently cleaned following completion of the entire wash cycle.